Aluminum
| Aluminum | |
|---|---|
| Al | |
| In situ availability: | abundant |
| Necessity: | useful |
| Atomic number: | 13 |
| Atomic mass: | 26.981538 |
| group: | 13 |
| period: | 3 |
| normal phase: | Solid |
| series: | Poor Metals |
| density: | 2.70 g/cm3 |
| melting point: | 933.47K, 660.32°C, 1220.58°F |
| boiling point: | 2792K, 2519°C, 4566°F |
| N/A ← B → C | |
| Mg ← Al → Si | |
| Zn ← Ga → Ge | |
| Atomic radius (pm): | 125 |
| Bohr radius (pm): | 118 |
| Covalent radius (pm): | 118 |
| Van der Waals radius (pm): | |
| ionic radius (pm): | (+3) 54 |
| 1st ion potential (eV): | 5.99 |
| Electron Configuration | |
| 1s2 2s2 2p6 3s2 3p1 | |
| Electrons Per Shell | |
| 2, 8, 3 | |
| Electronegativity: | 1.61 |
| Electron Affinity: | 0.44 |
| Oxidation states: | 3 |
| Magnetism: | Paramagnetic |
| Crystal structure: | Face centered cubic |
Aluminum is a Poor Metal in group 13.
It has a Face centered cubic crystalline structure.
This element has a stable isotope of 27
Often pronounced Aluminium outside the United States.
"Aluminum is a comparatively new industrial metal that has been produced in commercial quantities for just over 100 years. It weighs about one-third as much as steel or copper; is malleable, ductile, and easily machined and cast; and has excellent corrosion resistance and durability. Measured either in quantity or value, aluminum's use exceeds that of any other metal except iron, and it is important in virtually all segments of the world economy. Some of the many uses for aluminum are in transportation (automobiles, airplanes, trucks, railcars, marine vessels, etc.), packaging (cans, foil, etc.), construction (windows, doors, siding, etc), consumer durables (appliances, cooking utensils, etc.), electrical transmission lines, machinery, and many other applications."- USGS Aluminum Statistics and Information[1]
Lunar Aluminum Production
Lunar Aluminum production could use an adaptation of the Hall-Héroult or Deville process.
Hall-Héroult process in Earth is the electrolysis of molten alumina (bauxite processed in the Bayer process) with cryolite (Sodium hexafluoroaluminate).
It is critical to find fluorine on the moon in order to produce artificial cryolite for the Hall-Heroult process on the moon.
Other options are importing fluorine which would be stringently recycled and an ion-sputtering process to produce aluminum. Al203 and carbon can be processed at high temperatures into Al4C3.[1] [2] This breaks down into Aluminum and Carbon between 1900 and 2000 centigrade. Whichever oxide of carbon is given off in processing, it can be recycled into carbon.
References
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